John Durbeyfield
Character Analysis

Tess's father, a peddler with a bad heart condition and a love of alcohol. The novel begins with Durbeyfield learning that he is the last descendent of the ancient d'Urberville family. The news immediately goes to his head and he acts entitled for the rest of the book. He hopes to profit from his ancestry, and sends Tess off to connect with the wealthy d'Urberville-Stokes, which leads to her many misfortunes.

John Durbeyfield Quotes in Tess of the d'Urbervilles

The Tess of the d'Urbervilles quotes below are all either spoken by John Durbeyfield or refer to John Durbeyfield. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Penguin Books edition of Tess of the d'Urbervilles published in 2003.

Chapter 1
Quotes

Don't you really know, Durbeyfield, that you are the lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the d'Urbervilles, who derive their descent from Sir Pagan d'Urberville, that renowned knight who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, as appears by Battle Abbey Roll?

John Durbeyfield Character Timeline in Tess of the d'Urbervilles

The timeline below shows where the character John Durbeyfield appears in Tess of the d'Urbervilles. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Chapter 1

On his way home from haggling, a peddler named John Durbeyfield meets Parson Tringham, who surprises Durbeyfield by addressing him as “Sir John.” The parson...
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Chapter 3

...mother, Joan Durbeyfield, doing housework and singing. She surprises Tess with two pieces of news: John Durbeyfield has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition, and their family is descended...
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Chapter 4

...wealthy gentleman will end up marrying Tess. She says that the Compleat Fortune-Teller confirmed it. John worries that “queer” Tess might not like the plan.
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...up and her appearance alone makes them get ready to leave. She and Joan walk John home, all three weaving back and forth. He did not drink very much but his...
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Chapter 6

...manage the fowls. Joan exclaims over his handsomeness and the diamond ring on his finger. John thinks that Alec wants to marry Tess to improve his own bloodline. Tess is again...
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Chapter 38

John Durbeyfield returns. Joan has quickly taken the news in stride as if it were no...
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Chapter 50

...says that their father is dead. Tess rushes home. Joan is out of danger, but John suddenly fell dead of his heart condition. The news means that the Durbeyfields will be...
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Chapter 54

...by the field where he first saw Tess at the May-Day dance, and he sees John Durbeyfield's grave marked with “How Are The Mighty Fallen.” A stranger approaches and says that...
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